Women with disabilities in hearing: the last mile in the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV - a cross-sectional study from Zambia.

This article explored the differences in HIV testing in the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (EMTCT) between women with and without disabilities aged 16-55 years, reported being pregnant and receiving the social cash transfers (SCT) social safety nets in Luapula province, Zambia. We tested for associations between HIV testing in EMTCT and disability using logistic regression analyses. We calculated a functional score for each woman to determine if they had mild, moderate or severe difficulties and controlled for age, intimate partner sexual violence, and the SCT receipt.

Uncovering ART adherence inconsistencies: An assessment of sustained adherence among adolescents in South Africa.

Introduction: Antiretroviral treatment (ART) adherence rates are lower among adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV) than among adults and children, but more evidence is needed on long-term sustained ART adherence among ALHIV. This study assesses rates of sustained ART adherence in a cohort of adolescents in South Africa.

Methods: A prospective cohort of adolescents (10-19 years) living with HIV (baseline sample N = 1 046, 55% female, mean age 13.

Women's sexual scripting in the context of universal access to antiretroviral treatment-findings from the HPTN 071 (PopART) trial in South Africa.

Background: HIV treatment-based prevention modalities present new opportunities for women to make decisions around sex, intimacy, and prevention. The Universal test and treat (UTT) strategy, where widespread HIV testing is implemented and all people with HIV can access treatment, has the potential to change how sex is understood and HIV prevention incorporated into sexual relationships. We use the frame of sexual scripting to explore how women attribute meaning to sex relative to UTT in an HIV prevention trial setting.

Migration and interbirth transition rate using Benin Demographic and Health Survey data: Does episode-splitting matter?

Background: The relationship between migration and fertility has vexed demographers for years. One issue missing in the literature is the lack of careful temporal consideration of when women migrate and specifically, the extent to which they do either before or after live births.

Objective: Here, we opt for a more appropriate methodological approach to help remedy the complexity of the temporal aspect of migration and childbirth processes: regression models using the episode-splitting method.

Adolescent Motherhood and HIV in South Africa: Examining Prevalence of Common Mental Disorder.

The mental health of adolescents (10-19 years) remains an overlooked global health issue, particularly within the context of syndemic conditions such as HIV and pregnancy. Rates of pregnancy and HIV among adolescents within South Africa are some of the highest in the world. Experiencing pregnancy and living with HIV during adolescence have both been found to be associated with poor mental health within separate explorations.

Predictors of secondary HIV transmission risk in a cohort of adolescents living with HIV in South Africa.

Objective: Preventing secondary HIV transmission from adolescents and young people living with HIV (AYPLHIV) to their partners and children is critical to interrupting the HIV infection cycle in sub-Saharan Africa. We investigated predictors of secondary HIV transmission risk (past-year sexual risk combined with past-year viremia) among AYPLHIV in South Africa.

Design: A prospective cohort of AYLPHIV in South Africa recruited n = 1046 participants in 2014-2015, 93.

Adopting an ethical approach to migration health policy, practice and research.

Migration health is affected by decision making at levels ranging from global to local, both within and beyond the health sector. These decisions impact seeking, entitlements, service delivery, policy making and knowledge production on migration health. It is key that ethical challenges faced by decision makers are recognised and addressed in research and data, clinical practice and policy making on migration health.

Improving Detection of Depression in People Living with HIV: Psychometric Properties of the South African Depression Scale (SADS).

Most measures developed in high income countries to screen for major depressive disorder (MDD) among people living with HIV (PWH) demonstrate suboptimal psychometric properties when utilized in non-western, resource limited settings due to their high false positive rates. For standardized MDD screening to be implementable in local settings, a measure is needed that reduces diagnostic burden by being highly sensitive while limiting false positives. This study sought to evaluate the ability of the locally developed South African Depression Scale (SADS) to screen for MDD in PWH in Cape Town.

Feasibility pilot of an adapted parenting program embedded within the Thai public health system.

Background: This feasibility pilot of the Parenting for Lifelong Health for Young Children program in Thailand aimed to: 1) explore the feasibility of study evaluation approaches; 2) assess the feasibility of delivering an adapted program; 3) report indicative effects on child maltreatment and related outcomes; and 4) examine intervention content associated with key mechanisms of change perceived by caregivers and facilitators.

Method: Sixty primary caregivers of children aged 2-9 years were recruited for an 8-week parenting program embedded within the local health system. Mixed-methods approaches included quantitative caregiver-report and observational data from standardized instruments, and qualitative data from individual and group interviews with caregivers and program facilitators.

Effectiveness of the Sista2Sista programme in improving HIV and other sexual and reproductive health outcomes among vulnerable adolescent girls and young women in Zimbabwe.

: In Zimbabwe, adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) experience high rates of HIV and other sexual and reproductive health challenges. In 2013, the Zimbabwe Ministry of Health and Child Care partnered with the United Nations Population Fund to implement the Sista2Sista programme, a structured peer group intervention aimed at improving health outcomes among vulnerable in- and out-of-school AGYW.: Programme data was analysed for 91 612 AGYW aged 10-24 years old who participated in Sista2Sista from 2013 to 2019.

Why do people purchase antibiotics over-the-counter? A qualitative study with patients, clinicians and dispensers in central, eastern and western Nepal.

Introduction: Over-the-counter (OTC) use of antibiotics contributes to the burgeoning rise in antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Drawing on qualitative research methods, this article explores the characteristics of OTC sales of antibiotic in Nepal, its drivers and implications for policy.

Methods: Data were collected in and around three tertiary hospitals in eastern, western and central Nepal.

The Association Between Locus of Control and Psychopathology: A Cross-Cohort Comparison Between a UK (Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children) and a Japanese (Tokyo Teen Cohort) Cohort.

An external locus of control (externality) is associated with poorer psychopathology in individualist cultures, but associations are reported to be weaker in collectivist cultures where an external style is less maladaptive. We investigated the prospective association between externality and psychotic-like experiences (PLE) and depressive symptoms (DS) and compared the strength of associations between a UK and a Japanese cohort. Cross-cultural cohort study of a UK (Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children) and a Japanese cohort (Tokyo Teen Cohort).

A Model for Determining Predictors of the MUAC in Acute Malnutrition in Ghana.

The issue of malnutrition is perhaps the most important public health determinant of global wellbeing. It is one of the main causes of improper mental and physical development as well as death of many children. The Mid Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) rapid text setup is able to diagnose malnutrition due to the fact that the human arm contains subcutaneous fat and muscle mass.

'If you are found taking medicine, you will be called names and considered less of a man': young men's engagement with HIV treatment and care during ulwaluko (traditional initiation and circumcision) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa.

This paper explores how HIV-positive (young male initiates) undergoing (traditional Xhosa initiation and circumcision) engage with HIV-related biomedical care and treatment. Health-focused life history narratives ( = 36), semi-structured interviews ( = 32) and analysis of health facility files ( = 41) with adolescent boys and young men (ages 13-24) living with HIV, and semi-structured interviews with traditional and biomedical health practitioners ( = 14) were conducted in 2017 and 2018. This research was part of the Mzantsi Wakho study, a longitudinal, mixed methods study of adolescents living with HIV ( = 1060).

'Now my life is stuck!': Experiences of adolescents and young people during COVID-19 lockdown in South Africa.

Consequences of COVID-19 pandemic responses have included exacerbated poverty, food insecurity and state and domestic violence. Such effects may be particularly pronounced amongst adolescents and young people living in contexts of precarity and constraint, including in South Africa. However, there are evidence gaps on the lived experiences of this group.

Clinic and care: associations with adolescent antiretroviral therapy adherence in a prospective cohort in South Africa.

Objective: Adolescent antiretroviral treatment (ART) adherence remains critically low. We lack research testing protective factors across both clinic and care environments.

Design: A prospective cohort of adolescents living with HIV (sample n = 969, 55% girls, baseline mean age 13.

Intersecting stigma and HIV testing practices among urban refugee adolescents and youth in Kampala, Uganda: qualitative findings.

Introduction: HIV-related risks may be exacerbated in humanitarian contexts. Uganda hosts 1.3 million refugees, of which 60% are aged under 18.

Community-driven citizen science approach to explore cardiovascular disease risk perception, and develop prevention advocacy strategies in sub-Saharan Africa: a programme protocol.

Background: In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), which experiences a disproportionately high cardiovascular disease (CVD) burden, population-based screening and prevention measures are hampered by low levels of knowledge about CVD and associated risk factors, and inaccurate perceptions of severity of risk.

Methods: This protocol describes the planned processes for implementing community-driven participatory research, using a citizen science method to explore CVD risk perceptions and to develop community-specific advocacy and prevention strategies in the rural and urban SSA settings. Multi-disciplinary research teams in four selected African countries will engage with and train community members living in rural and urban communities as citizen scientists to facilitate conceptualization, co-designing of research, data gathering, and co-creation of knowledge that can lead to a shared agenda to support collaborative participation in community-engaged science.

End-user perspectives on preventive antimalarials: A review of qualitative research.

Antimalarials have been administered widely to prevent clinical malaria and researchers have explored how end-users' perspectives influence uptake and adherence. Drawing on a systematic search, this review aims to synthesise qualitative research on end-user perceptions of antimalarials for disease prevention. Searches were undertaken in PubMed and ISI Web of Knowledge.

One-year follow-up of The Incredible Years Parents and Babies Program: A pilot randomized controlled trial.

Background: The foundation of a healthy life begins in pregnancy and early adversity can have detrimental long-term consequences for affected children.

Objective: This paper examines the effects of the Incredible Years Parents and Babies program (IYPB) at one-year follow-up when offered as a universal parenting intervention to parents with newborn infants.

Method: We conducted a pragmatic, two-arm, parallel pilot randomized controlled trial; 112 families with newborns were randomized to IYPB intervention (n = 76) or usual care (n = 36).

Rapid ethnographic assessment for potential anti-malarial mass drug administration in an outbreak area of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Background: In the Dominican Republic, a recent outbreak of malaria in the capital, Santo Domingo, threatens efforts to eliminate the disease. Mass drug administration (MDA) has been proposed as one strategy to reduce transmission. The success of MDA is contingent upon high levels of acceptance among the target population.

Relationships with caregivers and mental health outcomes among adolescents living with HIV: a prospective cohort study in South Africa.

Background: Mental health problems may impact adherence to anti-retroviral treatment, retention in care, and consequently the survival of adolescents living with HIV. The adolescent-caregiver relationship is an important potential source of resilience. However, there is a lack of longitudinal research in sub-Saharan Africa on which aspects of adolescent-caregiver relationships can promote mental health among adolescents living with HIV.

Understanding Mental Health in the Context of Adolescent Pregnancy and HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review Identifying a Critical Evidence Gap.

Adolescent (10-19 years) mental health remains an overlooked global health issue. Rates of adolescent pregnancy within sub-Saharan Africa are some of the highest in the world and occur at the epicentre of the global HIV epidemic. Both experiencing adolescent pregnancy and living with HIV have been found to be associated with adverse mental health outcomes, when investigated separately.

The HIV care cascade for adolescents initiated on antiretroviral therapy in a health district of South Africa: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Little evidence exists to comprehensively estimate adolescent viral suppression after initiation on antiretroviral therapy in sub-Saharan Africa. This study examines adolescent progression along the HIV care cascade to viral suppression for adolescents initiated on antiretroviral therapy in South Africa.

Methods: All adolescents ever initiated on antiretroviral therapy (n=1080) by 2015 in a health district of the Eastern Cape, South Africa, were interviewed in 2014-2015.

Concordance within parent couples' perception of parental stress symptoms among parents to 1-18-year-olds with physical or mental health problems.

Parents of children with physical or mental health problems are at higher risk for experiencing parental stress. However, mothers and fathers may experience parental stress differently. The aim was to examine whether mothers and fathers of children with physical and/or mental health problems are equally inclined within the couples to experience different aspects of parental stress when considering child and parent couple characteristics.